Johor DAP deputy chief S Ramakrishnan was called in by Bukit Aman for questioning on Wednesday for sharing an image which allegedly disparages Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife on his Facebook account.
The photograph which had been widely distributed on social media was of Najib and Rosmah Mansor returning from umrah (minor haj), along with a disparaging caption.
Ramakrishnan said he saw the image online and since it had already been shared many times, he decided to repost it, adding the phrase "All sins are cleansed" to go with the post.
After seeing numerous negative comments in response, he decided to take down the post but not before some parties, including Pekan Umno, had already taken screenshots of it and lodged police reports.
"The police told me there were five police reports against me over the matter," he told Malaysiakini on Wednesday.
He said his phone was also confiscated by the police from the Bukit Aman cybercrime investigation division after he admitted that he had used his phone to post the image on his Facebook account.
On March 2, the Police Cyber Investigation Response Centre Twitter account @OfficialPcirc singled out Ramakrishnan’s post, after being alerted by a user named @apekbuta.
Ramakrishnan said though the questioning started amicably, it turned slightly contentious after the investigators seemingly received instructions from senior officers.
He believed he was being questioned as an accused and may face charges, adding that he was asked if he had any intention to hurt anyone's feelings with his posting.
He feared this may be a politically motivated attempt to target the DAP and turn the matter into a religious issue.
During the questioning, he was accompanied by lawyer M Manogaran who told Malaysiakini that his client would cooperate with the police and defend himself should he be charged in court.
Manogaran added that the cops also threatened Ramakrishnan with arrest when he asked them what would happen if he refused to surrender his phone.
He also said the police officers failed to explain to his client the law which is being used to question him and if there were going to be any charges.
The lawyer however suggested it could be under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for misuse of network facilities, which has been used against netizens for posts which the authorities found objectionable.
The lawyer hoped that the police would be professional as he and his client are willing to cooperate with them and not let the matter become a political issue.
Malaysiakini has contacted the police to confirm the matter and is awaiting their response. -Mkini
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